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Foreign investment in farmland and agribusiness of more than $20 million would face new scrutiny and be considered in the same “sensitive” category as media and defence under a Coalition plan to bolster Australia’s food security.

Details of the policy have emerged as Asian investors consider a takeover of foods giant Goodman Fielder. Analysts also anticipate foreign interest in companies that include Ridley Corp, Warrnambool Cheese and Butter, and GrainCorp.

Nationals Leader Warren Truss, chairman of the committee that devised the policy, also called for closer monitoring of whether foreign buy-ups in a sector such as sugar processing reduced competition. He said securing Australia’s food supply should be of paramount consideration in decisions about foreign investment.

“Australia must maintain control of its own destiny. We must know who owns our land and decide under what circumstances it can be acquired,” he told The Australian Financial Review.

“We want decisions to be made about our food security in this country rather than in international boardrooms or, even more concerning, by foreign governments with clearly different agendas.”

But the policy could fuel tensions between the Coalition and business leaders, who argue foreign investment is vital for funding infrastructure investment and productivity improvements. The Coalition’s stance contrasts with the government’s refusal to toughen regulations amid growing public concern about investment by foreign entities – including sovereign funds and mining companies – in agribusiness and farms.

The government recently warned that a “xenophobic” campaign would rob farmers of opportunities presented by growing demand from Asian countries for secure food supplies.

Last night, a spokesman for Trea­surer Wayne Swan defended existing regulations. “The government applies a rigorous national interest test to all foreign investment applications, and we screen every dollar of direct investment from foreign governments,” the spokesman said.

But Mr Truss said the Foreign Investment Review Board process lacked rigour and it never blocked purchases.

“I think FIRB needs to be given new instructions about the criteria they take into account in assessing what is in the national interest,” he said.

“Agriculture and agribusiness should be put into the sensitive category, like media and defence. They need to be required to take into account the importance of maintaining our nation’s food security.”

Mr Truss said the threshold for FIRB to scrutinise foreign investment from non-government players should be slashed from $244 million to about $10 million to $20 million.

“There is no farm in Australia worth $244 million. You can’t buy a suburban house as a foreigner in Australia without FIRB approval but you can buy the country’s biggest farm and ask no one.”

He said FIRB needed new members with “real business expertise”.

The Coalition is awaiting a Senate committee report before formalising its policy. That report was due this month but has been delayed.

Independent MP and Australian Party founder Bob Katter opposes further foreign takeovers of farm assets and wants strategic resources and industries kept in majority-Australian ownership. In January, the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences reported the share of farmland owned by foreigners had risen to 11.3 per cent, from 5.9 per cent in 1984.

In Queensland, the only state with a register of foreign ownership, there had been little change until 2006-07, then foreign land ownership tripled to 4.4 million hectares by 2009-10 with mining companies accounting for most of the increase.

Recent foreign takeovers have resulted in foreign investors controlling 50 per cent of milk processors, 60 per cent of sugar mills and 40 per cent of beef production in Australia.

Since the ABARES report, Thailand-based sugar producer, Mitr Pohl Group, had secured its takeover of the Maryborough Sugar Factory.

Mr Truss said the sugar industry was one sector where competition concerns could arise because of a concentration of foreign ownership.